NFL Draft preview: Kickers and Punters

This is one area in which the Jaguars don't need help

It can’t be viewed as a cheap shot because it’s a fact: Besides trading up to draft Blaine Gabbert No. 10 overall two years ago, the pick that former Jaguars general manager Gene Smith will be most associated with is punter Bryan Anger.

Instead of fortifying another position, Smith selected Anger 70th overall in last year’s draft, only the third punter since 1995 to go among the top 101 picks – Chicago’s Todd Sauerbrun in 1995 (No. 56) and the Jaguars’ Adam Podlesh in 2007 (No. 101).

Things should return to normal in this year’s draft — no punters or kickers picked in the top four rounds.

JAGUARS OUTLOOK

On roster: K Josh Scobee, P Bryan Anger and LS Jeremy Cain.

Draft history: The Jaguars have picked three punters and two kickers. Besides Anger, kicker Josh Scobee was fifth-round pick in 2004.

Need scale(1-5): 0. The good news about Anger — he’s good. He punted 91 times as a rookie and posted a 40.8-yard net average and 31 attempts inside the 20-yard line. Combined with Scobee and long snapper Jeremy Cain, the Jaguars are set.

THE TOP 5

1. P JEFF LOCKE, UCLA, 6-1, 209

A four-year punter who finished with career totals of 275 punts, a 44.2-yard average and 97 attempts inside the 20-yard line. … A left-footed punter. … Also handled kickoffs and had 68 touchbacks as a senior.

2. K DUSTIN HOPKINS, FLORIDA STATE, 6-2, 193

The highest-scoring kicker in NCAA history (466 points), he never had a kick blocked in Seminoles career. … Was 88 of 112 on field goals and 202 of 207 on extra points. … Made a 56-yard field goal last year. … Also has kickoff experience — 43 touchbacks in 2012.

3. K CALEB STURGIS, FLORIDA, 5-10, 188

A St. Augustine native, played parts of five years for the Gators. … Shut down in 2010 because of a back injury. … Handled kickoffs as a freshman and added placekicking for his final three seasons. … Sixty-seven touchbacks on kickoffs last year. … Finished 70 of 88 on field goals and 128 of 134 on extra points in career. … As a senior, three of his four misses were blocks.

4. P RYAN ALLEN, LOUISIANA TECH, 6-2, 229

Another left-footed punter, he started career at Oregon State. … Averaged 44.9 yards per punt in career and 48 yards as a senior. … Two-time Ray Guy Award winner for nation’s top punter. … Reputation is for having excellent hang time and kick placement.

5. P BRAD WING, LSU, 6-3, 205

A native of Australia who started punting while an exchange student in Baton Rouge, La., averaged 44.8 yards per attempt last year and landed 27 punts inside the 20-yard line. … Father punted in NFL Europe. … Two red flags — was arrested on a battery charge in 2011 and missed bowl game last year because of a failed drug test.

PRABOLA: "You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else." Tyler Durden.

PS: When it comes to posts not being about football, you might want to sweep your own doorstep. Plenty of my posts are about football opinions but you just bring out the "take him down a peg" in me. You're so easy to get a tome-like response from, how can I resist? This section is about sports and you just happen to be one of mine.

That is it? No response to football issues? But of course I should have known. You never really have anything to say besides bashing others for an expression of opinion and what the Jags need to do to improve. You are one of the big "arm chair" guys on here and has a deep seated Tebow hatred.

I will not be attending any Mensa meetings but the only way you will is when you are asking someone if they need a refill on their coffee/tea/water.

And yes when you copy me it shows you can't come up with your own original thoughts. For some reason you fancy yourself as some intellectual superior. Go and proofread some more articles and tell them they need to correct this or that. Great job! Now go bash someone for not believing every move/non move is the best thing for the Jags.

Your posts are simplistic and childish. They focus too much on what others have to say and not any original thoughts of your own. Let me break it down real simple for you - you are not the GM either.